Adventures in genealogy

It’s Not All Fun and Games

The press coverage is non-stop about a certain competition that’s about to take place among athletes with ancestries from all over the world. No, not that one that starts with an “O”! I mean the Genea-Blogger Group Games. All the genealogy blogs are writing about it. “Athletes”, also known as family historians, are flooding Miriam with sign-ups. I’ve obviously gotten in some fun with the event, but I wasn’t sure about “officially” participating. Posting my “goals for achievement” just sounded too much like something my employer would require me to do. Genealogy is supposed to be fun! But, it’s not all fun and games. To be honest, genealogy is hard work! With that in mind, I’ll join the merry band of goal-setting researchers in hopes of achieving some great things – and maybe win some prizes, too! Wait, no prizes? Oh well, the prize will be a job well done in completing some tasks essential to genealogical research.

There are five competition categories in the GB Games involving citing sources, backing up data, organizing your research, writing, and reaching out to help other genealogists. All five of these things are of vital importance to any genealogical quest. If there are any beginners reading this blog, I can assure you that you can’t be successful at genealogy without learning skills in each of these categories. Even though I’ve been doing this for a while, I still have a few things to learn. Although “Go Back and Cite Your Sources!” is definitely my weakest skill and the event I would most benefit from, I don’t think I have the amount of time required to be successful at this in the next two weeks. I will, however, pay close attention to my fellow competitors and learn from their example – and hopefully their tips after they’ve completed their tasks. (Oh my, I almost used the phrase “Lessons Learned” – another staple phrase of the full-time business world.)

“Back Up Your Data!” is another weak area, but I will take up the challenge to compete. Even a small effort towards backing up data will bring me rewards, and it’s been on my “to do” list for a while.

I will compete in “Organize Your Research” as this is something I’ve struggled with for months. I definitely won’t take home the platinum in this one, but, just as in backing up your data, any advancement in this area is beneficial. My goal here is to re-organize some piles of paper I have scattered about, organize some of my photo collection, and do some scanning.

I hope to compete in the “Write, Write, Write!” category as well, especially since I am planning on participating in some of the upcoming carnivals. Since I’ve already volunteered to be the host for the next COG, and this takes place during the GB Games, does this count as completing one of the tasks?

“Reach Out and Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness” is another category I’ll be competing in, I’m just not sure to what extent. I’ve been wanting to participate in an indexing project for some time now, but I may have to set my goals for this category a little lower due to some other projects I’m working on during the competition period.

It’s going to be a fierce competition…these genea-bloggers are a rough group. Join us at the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow! Ready, set, RESEARCH!